The linkages between coffee and the Mai-tai continues. We've had coffee flavored rum drinks, and now the reverse has happened ....

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[Tuesday, March 28, 2008]
(Drinks Media Wire)

Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition (GLRBC) judges – hosted by Alterra Coffee Roasters – affirmed what frequenters of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Chicago have known for quite some time. Michael Phillips prepares an amazing cup of espresso, cappuccino as well as his own custom coffee beverages.

The GLRBC featured premier baristas from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Phillips and his challengers delivered 12 coffee beverages – four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature drinks of their choosing – in 15 minutes while being critiqued by the event’s seven judges. The SCAA-certified judges evaluated the competitors on taste, beverage presentation, technical skills, station cleanliness and total impression.

Phillips’s signature drink – an espresso version of the popular cocktail, the Mai Tai – especially impressed the event’s arbitrators. “I have had an interest in mixology for awhile and the Mai Tai was the first drink I really worked with and developed to a successful level,” Phillips stated. “It transitioned to coffee very naturally.”

The frothy coffee concoction consisted of a mixture of espresso, a brewed Colombian micro-lot (La Planada) coffee, an orange reduction made from Cara Cara navel oranges and his own homemade version of orgeat (an almond-based syrup.)

“Through his championship performance, Michael demonstrated the true artisanship involved in the barista profession,” said SCAA Executive Director Ric Rhinehart. “The Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition as well as our other nine barista events serve as a platform for these expert professionals to showcase their expert preparation skills, which ultimately provides our consumers with a more pleasurable and distinctive cup of specialty coffee.”